Survivor SA's 6th season set in the Phillipines

Manila – The 6th season of Survivor South Africa will be set in the Asia Pacific paradise of the Philippines archipelago and will be known as Survivor SA: Philippines as tribes of ordinary South Africans from all walks of life battle it out to outwit, outplay and outlast each other in the azure blue seas of this exotic locale in the longest season yet.

Filming of the show produced by Afrokaans started in January with the new season making its debut on M-Net from Thursday 3 May at 19:00.

American, French and Israeli versions of Survivor have already been filmed in and around islands of the Philippines before with the beautiful and far-flung archipelago that boats some of the world's top-ranking beaches and is known for being a tropical paradise – home to exotic creepy crawlies living in its dense forests, as well as incredible marine life inhabiting its azure oceans.

The South African Survivor SA castaways will be exposed to the beauty of thousands of islands connected by Pacific waters, each one home to these distinct forests and bays which are teeming with indigenous wildlife, both beautiful and dangerous.

"The location of every Survivor series is a crucial part of the show," says Lani Lombard, M-Net’s head of publicity.

"It stands alongside the castaways as a silent character in its own right – providing the stunning and punishing backdrop against which all of the triumphs and betrayals of this strategically gruelling game play out."

Channel24 can exclusively reveal that filming of Survivor SA started at the beginning of January and will finish towards the end of February.

Channel24 can also reveal that all of the sound equipment wa brought in from America, all of the camera gear was air-freighted in from South Africa to the Philippines in December 2017 and that the show's art department who build all of the challenges and the tribal council area have been in the Philippines since November 2017, preparing all of the builds required for the show.

Survivor SA: Phillipines will be the longest season yet - stretching a full 39 days.

"The show is longer in duration than any previous Survivor SA season," says Afrokaans. "The time filming is taking place over 39 days as opposed to the 27 from the previous seasons. We have crew members who have worked on all 6 seasons of Survivor SA as well as crew members – South African and Philippino – who have worked on numerous seasons of the American Survivor series."

"We have assembled some of the best in the industry to create this show to the highest production value."